Brutal F1 cars reach peaks of 8G in Australia GP

That is the view of Mario Isola, who is taking over from Paul Hembery as the most prominent F1 figure representing the sport’s official tyre supplier Pirelli.

He thinks the Italian marque has succeeded in making new, wider tyres that will contribute to this year’s cars being much faster and more challenging to drive.

“Last year, the cars were reaching forces of 4G, but now we’re measuring figures at about 8G, so we can say that the new racing cars are nearly fighter planes,” Isola smiled to Italy’s La Gazzetta dello Sport.

“I am sure the drivers will be tired at the end of the race which could lead to errors and opportunities for opponents to mount an attack.”

A sequence of rule changes – including moves to wider tyre, wide range of modifications in aerodynamics and newly introduced t-wing – look to have made the 2017 cars five-second faster than last year’s versions and many believe this year’s championship will be tighter than the Mercedes-dominated events of recent years.

“The cars are brutal to drive – we are not far from 8G with the peak in high corners – so it is pretty good fun,” said Haas F1 driver Romain Grosjean. “But it is hard on the body, it is hard on parts, it is hard on the cars.

“You better not miss the turning point on some places. The speed we go through the corners is insane compared to the past. You need to be more precise, more accurate, more on it, and the body gets a pretty tough time into some corners so it could be.”